Greater Khingan Da Hinggan Range, Chinese (Pinyin) Da Xing’an Ling or (Wade-Giles romanization) Ta Hsing-an Ling, or (Pinyin) Da Hinggan Ling, conventional Greater Khingan Rangemajor mountain system located in the northeastern section of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northeastern China. The range extends some 750 miles (1,200 km) from north to south and constitutes the divide between the flat plains lowlands of the Northeast (ManchuriaManchurian) Plain to the east and the high Mongolian Plateau to the west. The Greater Khingan Da Hinggan Range is bounded on the south by the Jehol Uplands Xar Moron River and on the north by the Amur River. The range is an important watershed between the LiaoRiver system and the Sungari , Sungari (Songhua), and Nen (Nonni) river systems of the Manchurian Northeast Plain to the east and the headwaters of the Amur River and its tributaries in to the northwest. The western slopes of the southern section of the range drain into the Mongolian Plateau.

The Greater Khingan Da Hinggan Range has an average elevation of from 3,950 to 4,250 feet (1,200 to 1,300 mmetres), the highest peak reaching 6,673 feet (2,035 mmetres). The range is much broader in the north (190 miles [306 km]) than it is in the south (60 miles [97 km]). It was formed during the Jurassic periodPeriod (roughly 200 to 145 million years ago), and it is essentially a tilted fault block; its ancient fault line forms its eastern edge, facing the Manchurian Northeast Plain. The ranges are markedly asymmetrical, with a sharp eastern face and a more gentle western slope down to the Mongolian Plateau, which at this that point lies at an elevation of 2,600 to 3,300 feet (790 to 1,000 mmetres). The eastern slopes are more heavily dissected by the numerous tributaries of the Nen and Sungari rivers, but generally the mountains are rounded with flat peaks. The ranges are composed largely of igneous rocks (i.e., formed from the molten statethrough the solidification of magma).

The mountains form an important climatic divide. They take most of the precipitation from the southeasterly winds and produce a marked contrast with the arid region to the west. The climate of the whole region is comparatively wet climate (receiving more than precipitation exceeds 20 inches [500 mm] annually) that contrasts sharply with the arid region to the west. The northern section of the mountains is the coldest part of eastern China, with extremely severe winters (mean temperature -18° F [-28° C−18 °F [−28 °C]) and with large areas under permafrost. This area region is covered by forests of larch, birch, aspen, and pine, with shrub cover on the highest elevations. It is rich in wildlife, including deer, elk, marten, hare, and many other fur-bearing animals. The central and southern sections of the range, however, are considerably warmer and drier than in the north, with January temperatures of about -5° F (-21° C−5 °F (−21 °C), annual precipitation of 10–12 inches (250–300 mm), and comparatively light snowfalls. The coniferous forests of the north gradually give way in the south to broad-leaved forests and then to patches of grassland interspersed with woodland. In the south the forests cover the higher ground above 5,000 feet (1,500 mmetres), while the greater part of the area is covered with tall grassland. In May 1987 a devastating fire swept the Greater Khingan Da Hinggan forests, destroying perhaps 4,000 square miles (10,000 square km) of timber; it became known as the Black Dragon Fire, for the Hei-lung Heilong Jiang (“Black Dragon River,” River”; i.e., the Amur) that flows through the area.

The Greater Khingan Da Hinggan region was to a large extent unexplored until the 20th century. The exploitation of the northern area part of the region began with the construction early in the 20th century of the first railway across the mountains—the Chinese Eastern Railroad from Tsitsihar to Man-chou-li, the latter in extreme northwestern Manchuria on the Russo-Chinese frontier. Under Qiqihar in Heilongjiang province, to Manzhouli, north of Lake Hulun, in northeastern Inner Mongolia near the border with Russia. During the Japanese occupation of Northeast China (Manchuria(; 1931–45), a number of railways were constructed into the mountains north and south of this line in order to extract lumber, the most important being those running into the area north of T’u-li-hoTulihe (Tol Gol). These lines were later extended eastward into the I-le-hu-li Yilehuli Mountains, which strike east and west and join the Greater Khingan Da Hinggan Range proper to the Lesser Khingan Xiao Hinggan Range. Further Farther south a more recent line follows the T’ao-erh Tao’er River valley northwest from Pai-ch’eng Baicheng in Kirin Jilin province to So-lun Suolun (Solon) and the hot springs at A-erh-shan Arxan in Inner Mongolia.

Much of the area is inhabited by peoples speaking Mongol and(, in the north) , Manchu-Tungus peopleslanguages, such as the Orochon and Evenk. Logging continues to be the major economic activity.